La Via del Tè – the Florentine family who brought tea to Italy

Italy is the land of coffee. Yet in Florence, one family has been following tea since 1961.

It all began with Alfredo and Lalla Carrai. At the time, tea was still a fairly unknown drink in Italy, but Alfredo became so fascinated by it that he set off to find it where it was grown and made.

The first teas came from Sri Lanka. In 1976 Alfredo travelled to China for the first time, and later his journeys took him to Darjeeling and Japan. He got to know white teas, Yunnan tea and Japanese shade-grown teas. In 1992 the company began importing Matcha, Sencha and Gyokuro from Japan.

The current name, La Via del Tè, was born in 1996. A year later the first own tea shop opened on Piazza Ghiberti in Florence.

The family business has grown, but the Carrais are still at its heart. Alfredo's children and grandchildren carry on the work with tea. Anna Carrai works as the house Tea Blender and Tea Taster, Regina Carrai as Tea Expert and Tea Consultant.

Production is based in Impruneta just outside Florence. In Florence, La Via del Tè has three shops of its own. In the old rooms of Palazzo Frescobaldi in Santo Spirito there is also a tea room where tea is served with sweet and savoury dishes.

Tea is a bit like olive oil

Perhaps that's exactly why La Via del Tè feels so familiar at Olivo.

When you taste olive oils side by side, you quickly notice the differences. Variety, growing area and harvest come through in the aroma, the taste and that slight bitterness or pepperiness that lingers in the mouth.

The same happens with tea.

Growing area, picking and how the leaves are processed change the cup entirely. A white tea can be almost translucently delicate. A green tea may have notes of grass, flowers or the sea. A black tea can be fruity, woody or so smoky that the first sniff takes you to a campfire.

La Via del Tè's single-origin teas let these differences show in the cup.

Where to start?

You don't need to know the vocabulary of tea to find a good one. The easiest starting point is to think about what you feel like tasting.

Yin Zhen, when you're looking for a delicate tea

Yin Zhen means silver needles. The name comes from the tea's pale buds covered in white down, picked in early spring in Fujian.

In the cup the colour stays a pale straw yellow. The aroma has fruit and flowers, and the taste stays soft and sweet long after drinking.

This tea deserves time. 2.5 grams of tea to two decilitres of water at 80 degrees, steeped for 4–5 minutes.

Orange Pekoe, when you're craving a proper black tea

Orange Pekoe OP1 comes from Sri Lanka. In this case, the Orange in the name has nothing to do with oranges; it refers to the grading of the tea leaves.

The brew is dark with a coppery hue. The taste has wood, spice and fruitiness. It's a natural breakfast tea, but works just as well in the afternoon with pastries or savoury snacks.

Special Jasmine, when you want the scent of jasmine in your cup

Special Jasmine is made from green tea and fresh jasmine flowers. The flowers are layered with the tea so that the leaves absorb the jasmine scent.

In the cup you can sense the jasmine even before the first sip. The tea opens grassy and finishes sweet. It works hot, as iced tea and at the dinner table too.

Lapsang Souchong, when you want smoke

Lapsang Souchong comes from Fujian. The tea leaves are traditionally dried over smoking, resinous pinewood.

You notice it immediately.

The aroma has smoke and wood, the colour is dark and coppery. The taste is full, rounded and slightly sweet. It works especially well alongside cheeses, smoked salmon and robust cured meats.

Lapsang is also worth trying in the kitchen. Tea can bring smokiness to a risotto or sauce without adding any smoked ingredient.

A Florentine garden in your cup

The other side of La Via del Tè is found in its blends.

Giardini Segreti, Secret Gardens, is a collection of six teas. Lago delle Ninfee and Giardino oltre le Mura are based on black tea. Oasi nel Blu, Sguardo sulla Città, Sentiero degli Innamorati and Isola Bella are green teas.

The names alone tell you what world they come from: a lake of water lilies, a garden beyond the walls, the lovers' path, a view over the city.

Then come the flavours themselves.

In Oasi nel Blu, lemongrass, mint and lemon peel join the green tea. Sentiero degli Innamorati combines Chinese and Japanese green teas with rosebuds and flowers. In Lago delle Ninfee, the black tea is accompanied by rosebuds, strawberry and flower petals, among other things.

At Olivo these six teas are also available in Giardini Segreti gift boxes. It's a good way to taste several blends side by side and notice how much difference there can be even within a single collection.

Tea belongs at the dinner table too

It's sometimes worth thinking about tea the same way as wine or olive oil: what happens when you put food next to it?

Smoky Lapsang Souchong goes well with cheeses, smoked salmon and cured meats. Delicate Yin Zhen works with fresh cheeses and dairy-based desserts. Jasmine tea also goes along with food, especially when the table calls for a lighter, aromatic drink.

With sweets it's simple. A good tea and a few cantucci go a long way.

When you start tasting tea this way, you find more in the cup than you first imagined.

Why is La Via del Tè at Olivo?

There's something very Olivo about the story of La Via del Tè.

Alfredo Carrai became so interested in the raw ingredient that he went after it himself, to China, Darjeeling and Japan. The next generation carried on the work, learned to blend tea and built their own Florentine expression alongside the world's ancient tea cultures.

On Olivo's shelves, the most interesting thing is getting to taste these differences for yourself.

One day your cup might hold a light Yin Zhen, another a jasmine-scented green tea. In the morning you may fancy Orange Pekoe, on an autumn evening a smoky Lapsang Souchong.

You don't need to know everything about good tea in advance.

By tasting, you'll quickly learn what you like.

Explore Olivo's tea range →